Just a quick note: Kickfire is not based on SSD (solid-state device) hard drives. Their old website says “SQL goes solid state” but that just means SQL in hardware, not SSD.

When I was a child, we had a Sears Lady Kenmore clothes washing machine that boasted “solid-state circuits” on the panel, in flowery script writing. It was not based on SSD, either.

Finally, I am not on the Kickfire payroll. I’m not getting anything from working with them, except perhaps the fun of being in their labs while they’re still in stealth mode. It’s a harder balance than you might think, writing about a product that I don’t know about and am excited to learn about, and sounding objective. If I’m sounding like a fanboy, I don’t mean to. Trust me, if it’s vaporware you’ll hear it here first.

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I read yesterday in The Wall Street Journal an interesting article in Personal Technology, “Solid-state drives challenge hard drives in speed, but not value”. While the title does sum up nothing new, the barrier to entry to embracing new technology is always cost, and early adopters may not have deeper pockets, but it’s also about being a alpha geek.

As the article states “Solid-state drives have some key advantages. Because that lack moving parts, they are faster, draw less power, and harder to damage and are quieter”. It also backed this up with some results.

What I did not realize, is the new MacBook Air has a 80GB HHD version at $1,799 and as 64G SSD version at $2,798. Testing showed that there was little difference in battery life between these models, however with the …